Egypt, with an overall score of 49.91 out of 100, has secured a position within the top three best-performing countries in Africa, alongside Morocco (49.17), in a new exclusive ranking by Jeune Afrique. South Africa leads the list of 20 nations with an overall score of 64.79. The ranking was developed by the Jeune Afrique Media Group, through its Jeune Afrique Intelligence Unit, using a unique methodology focusing on governance, innovation, and influence. South Africa tops the ranking with a comfortable lead, its score driven by its industrial power, active diplomacy, high-quality infrastructure, innovation capacity, and an internationally recognised education system. The country ranks first in two of the three analysed dimensions: influence (contributing 16.92 points to its overall score) and innovation (contributing 19.53 points). Its governance dimension contributed 28.33 points. Egypt's second-place performance included a governance score of 23.33, an influence score of 12.04, and an innovation score of 14.53. Morocco, in third, received 27.50 for governance, 9.82 for influence, and 11.85 for innovation. The strategic overview, published by Jeune Afrique following its November list of the 30 most attractive African cities, aims to highlight countries building resilient development trajectories. "This ranking highlights countries that, beyond short-term crises, are successfully building resilient development trajectories," said Amir Ben Yahmed, CEO of Jeune Afrique Media Group. "It's not just about measuring a country's wealth or size, but its ability to achieve sustainable performance across all dimensions." Beyond the leading trio, the vitality of the anglophone bloc is confirmed, with Botswana (overall score 46.15, including a strong governance contribution of 36.67 points) positioned at 4th. Kenya followed at 5th (45.36), with Mauritius at 6th (43.75). Ethiopia ranked 7th (43.71), Tanzania 8th (43.56, with a governance score of 33.33), and Nigeria 9th (43.14, including an innovation contribution of 13.63 points). Some countries, like Kenya and Ethiopia, benefit from the performance of flagship companies (such as Safaricom and Ethiopian Airlines), a booming digital ecosystem, and a strong geostrategic role. Others, such as Mauritius (governance contribution 32.50) and Botswana, capitalise on institutional stability and economic attractiveness. On the Francophone side, the ranking surprises by the low representation of several economically significant countries. Algeria, for example, is ranked 19th with an overall score of 39.70 (governance 26.25, influence 5.42, innovation 8.04), and Mauritania does not appear in the top 20. After Mauritius, Côte d'Ivoire (10th, overall 42.72; governance 32.50, influence 3.24, innovation 6.97), Tunisia (12th, overall 42.44; governance 24.17, influence 7.30, innovation 10.97), and Senegal (13th, overall 41.39; governance 30.83, influence 4.90, innovation 5.65) achieve the highest scores among francophone countries. While these nations show strong performance in governance and innovation, their international influence still needs to be strengthened, according to the report. The ranking also gives prominence to island nations and low-population countries such as Namibia (15th, overall 40.90), Cape Verde (16th, overall 40.58), and Seychelles (17th, overall 39.91). Seychelles notably achieved the highest governance score in the ranking, contributing 37.08 points to its total. These relatively stable, democratic, and well-governed states leverage their image, diplomacy, and roles as tourism and financial hubs to maximise their influence. Departing from traditional GDP-centric approaches, Jeune Afrique's ranking offers a renewed analytical framework of the continent by deploying a broader methodology. This approach is structured around 25 indicators, grouped into three dimensions, with scores for each dimension weighted to contribute to an overall score out of 100: * Governance (accounting for 50% of the overall score) includes indicators such as GDP per capita growth, foreign direct investment, effectiveness of public policies, the rule of law, and corruption perception. * Influence (accounting for 25% of the overall score) includes indicators such as diplomatic presence, cultural and sporting influence, and strategic weight in international organisations. * Innovation (accounting for 25% of the overall score) includes indicators such as educational performance, number of patents filed, capital raised by local start-ups, and university reputation. Each of these dimensions is initially scored out of 100 before weighting. The scores presented in the ranking reflect the weighted contribution of each dimension to the final overall score.
